Home Is Wherever I'm With You
by courtneymarie87
Summary: Toby has worked hard and finally been able to move out from under his parents roof. Now he and Spencer have a place to be that is all their own. Disclaimer: I own nothing. Boo.
1. Chapter 1

Spencer smiled as a warm breeze whipped through the open window of her SUV and her chestnut brown hair flowed softly away from her shoulders. Driving was one of her favorite activities to clear her head when the weather was nice, but today her drive had a purpose and a destination.

It was hard for her to believe that Toby had already moved into his own place, but his salary was decent and he was adding a great sum of money to what he'd already saved. Even though she may not have agreed with his decision at first, she could understand why figuring out what he needed to do to get away from his parents house was his first priority.

After being wrongfully let go by Mr. Sweeney, he had taken some small construction jobs on the outskirts of Rosewood. People there didn't seem to care as much about what had happened in his past; all that mattered to them was his strong work ethic and how easily he picked up the tricks of the trade.

He had been lucky enough to stumble upon an amazing mentor. He got Toby started in a carpentry apprenticeship program at a local trade school after he completed his GED. Spencer was so happy to see him excelling at something that he loved to do.

When he called to tell her he was beginning to look at apartments, she felt so proud of him for realizing one of his biggest dreams. Toby helped her see there were a multitude of things you could do in life to become a content and successful person. Completing high school and college was one path, but not the only one.

After a few days of looking, he happened upon an affordable place that he loved near Hollis College. A lot of young people lived in the area and it was always bustling with things to do. Not to mention it wasn't a long drive from work or from Spencer. She had loved holding his hand as they walked through stores and garage sales, checking out pieces of furniture and random kitchen utensils. They had grabbed quick kisses on sidewalks looking for kitschy antiques; day dreamed about Saturday mornings together while browsing mattresses and bed frames.

Toby wouldn't let her visit until he had the place completely in order. He said he wanted to make sure that she saw her "second home" for the first time, in perfect condition. She had really wanted to help him decorate, but also thought it was adorable that he wanted to keep the place a secret.

They hadn't seen a lot of each other during the past week since he was so busy settling into his new surroundings. As she pulled into the apartment parking lot, a feeling of excitement spread through her whole body. Her boyfriend had his own home. Now they had somewhere to go to get away from all the chaos of their families and the rest their lives, to just be. Be _together_. Armed with a small housewarming gift, Spencer pulled out her phone and looked again at the message he sent her the previous day.

**Come over tomorrow night, I'll make dinner. 7:30. Apartment #405. Can't wait to see you.** - Toby


	2. Chapter 2

Anxiously, Spencer rapped her knuckle against the door separating her from Toby. She had missed him more than anything over the past week, but she knew that it was for a good reason and would be completely worth the wait. Her breath stuck momentarily in her throat as she heard the knob turning from the other side. It was always surprising, the kind of effect that his presence had on her. She was enamored of him.

Mirrored smiles erupted on their faces as he opened the door. She flung herself into his arms, nearly knocking him backwards, and held on for what felt like an eternity.

"I missed you, too," he laughed into her ear.

When she pulled away from him and looked around, she was more than impressed by what she saw. Much like how Aria had described Ezra's apartment, it was one room with the contents of an entire house packed neatly into it.

A tiny kitchen was home to his cooking supplies as well as a table and chairs, already set for two. Further into the room she saw the beautiful set of a mahogany bookshelf, desk and coffee table that they discovered at a fancy Rosewood estate sale. Spencer had used her persuasive skills to haggle them down to a fantastic price. A couch and chair sat around the coffee table while a sturdy stand held his tv and dvd player. There was also a very comfortable looking bed in the back corner which she decided she would get to later on.

"So, what do you think?"

She leaned forward and kissed him gently on the cheek. "It's great, Toby. I'm so proud of you."

He pulled her closer and placed a kiss on her forehead before walking over into the kitchen and grabbing a pitcher of water from the refrigerator.

"Dinner is ready any time. Are you hungry?"

She nodded and went to set her purse down on the coffee table when she was reminded of the housewarming gift that she was holding in her other hand.

"Oh! I brought you something. Before we eat.. open it!"

He appeared by her side and they both sat down on the couch as she handed the gift to him. Unwrapping it slowly, he pulled the last bit of paper away and was presented with a vintage edition Scrabble game.

Toby looked up at her, beaming. "Spence, this is awesome. Where did you find it?"

"Remember when you were paying for the furniture and I walked over to that other house? I saw it there."

"So, that's why girls carry such big purses!", he exclaimed. "I can't believe you were able to hide it from me."

She tilted her head to the side and shrugged. "I thought maybe you could put it out for decoration, and it would always remind you of... us."

Toby smiled. "Of course, but I'm also going to use it to kick your ass again. You know that, right?"

Spencer gave him an unamused look and got up to walk towards the table for their dinner. "You're on, sir. What are we having this evening?"

He followed close behind her and walked over to the stove top. He picked up the lid of the pot that was on it and used a large spoon to stir the contents. He then turned to the table, picking up both of their plates and placing them on the counter. He took a large salad bowl from the refrigerator and placed it in front of her; she scooped some for herself as she watched him plating the rest of their food. She felt at home simply being near him and she knew that this was the beginning of a whole new chapter for them.

"Dinner is served," he said, placing a plate of spaghetti with meatballs in front of her before sitting down himself with his own food and another plate full of bread.

She took a bite of her spaghetti. It was delicious. And familiar. "This is really good. It tastes like it could've come from the Apple Rose Grille."

Toby looked up at her, stunned, and began to laugh before either of them could say anything else. "Okay, so, maybe after I said I would make dinner, I realized I didn't know how to cook anything. I cut the bread myself?"

She laughed along with him. "It's all perfect... and plated very nicely, might I add."

They enjoyed each other's company immensely as they ate. It was just the right start to the first of many evening's together in a place that could be all their own.


	3. Chapter 3

Toby propped his legs up on the coffee table and looked through the contents of the vintage Scrabble box. He smiled at how thoughtful his girlfriend had been in picking out a gift for him. A gift that he in no way expected or needed; just having her there, just having her a part of his life, was more than enough.

He glanced over to the kitchen where she was finishing cleaning up their mess from dinner. When she had insisted upon him letting her clean up immediately afterwards, he was adamant that she was his guest and he would not be letting her do chores. Spencer, being Spencer, wouldn't take no for an answer. He guessed she had a point in saying that he had made dinner so he should let her do the dishes. Plus, he knew that arguing with her once she had made up her mind about something was usually futile and he retreated to the couch.

Something about her having thrown her hair up into a lazy ponytail and rolling up her sleeves to dive in to the soapy water made her even more attractive to him than she already was. He loved the Spencer that was studious and well put together, but he also enjoyed seeing the many other facets that she possessed. Her domestic side made him drift off into thoughts of the future. He couldn't help thinking about her taking up residence with him in this apartment; coming home to her after work, cooking meals together, spending every night lying next to one another.

These ideas were exciting and wonderful, but he had to keep them at the back of his mind. While he loved her more than he could ever imagine loving anyone else, he knew that they were far too young to be contemplating things of such a serious nature. Toby let his head fall onto the back of the couch, closed his eyes, and told himself that those things would happen for them... someday.

He heard the sound of Spencer putting the last dish into the cupboard and the soft creaking of the floorboards underneath her steps. A delicate hand brushed some of his hair away from his forehead as she gave him a small kiss in its place. He slowly opened his eyes and saw her standing above him, lips pursed, and looking at him wistfully.

"Come here," he whispered, patting the empty cushion next to him. She made her way around the couch and took over the space. Sitting with her back against the arm of the couch, her legs laid gently over top of his, she sighed.

"I know how important it was for you to get out of your house and you have been working so hard; you deserve to be happy."

He looked deep into her eyes and he could tell how much she meant what she was saying, but he didn't have to strain himself to know that. "It's a strange feeling for me to have someone else actually care about how I feel. I still don't think I've gotten used to it."

She reached out and took his hand in hers, holding on to it tightly. "I know. I feel that way, too, sometimes. How did your parents take the news when you told them you were leaving?"

"They certainly didn't throw me a going away party," he replied," I'm not sure it really mattered to them, one way or another."

"And Jenna?"

Spencer was always most curious about the subjects that she knew probably weren't the best to bring up. Then again, it forced them to open up to each other with just about anything; it kept them close.

"She's not happy I won't be at her beck and call anymore, I know that much. Her control over me; over how my parents treat me, it's done. They'll stop thinking about me altogether eventually... I'll really be on my own." He felt a squeeze engulf his hand and he looked up at her.

"No, you won't. You'll have _me_," she told him.

Toby smiled and returned the firm hand squeeze. He wasn't sure he would've had the courage to stand up to his family and finally leave them if she had not been a part of his life. He glanced at the Scrabble game sitting next to him and turned back to her with a mischievous grin. She tilted her head to the side in question before he spoke.

"What do you say to that rematch?"


	4. Chapter 4

Arcade Fire serenaded them in the background as they were locked in what could only be described as a Scrabble fight to the death. Toby was mostly amused by the fact that his girlfriend was so hellbent on beating him; she had barely made any conversation during the entire game, aside from narration about how many points she was carrying at any given moment.

"Want something to drink?," he asked, getting up from the couch to retrieve a glass of water from the kitchen.

A head shake side to side was the best answer he could get. She was completely engulfed in the small wooden letters that sat in front of her. Planning her next move was the priority of the moment. When they had played the game to pass time waiting for Jenna at the motel, her reaction to his one hundred and four point word had been priceless. He couldn't help laughing. It wasn't as though he had tried very hard to beat her. The fact that she could have this kind of passion for _a game_ was something that he loved very much about her. Some people might call it otherwise, but to him; it was passion.

"Toby, come on, it's your turn." He shook his head as Spencer called him from the couch and made his way back over. She was still scrutinizing her tiles as he sat down across from her. They had been playing for over an hour and he would have been fine with ending the game at any moment, but her competitive nature felt otherwise.

He glanced at his tiles, then at the board, then back at his tiles and then at Spencer. She had just played a word that would allow him to score over triple the amount of points he had befuddled her with the last time they played. He held back his initial urge to fold into hysterics at the fact that, try as she might, she was just not going to beat him at this game.

"Highjack," he said non-chalantly as he laid his tiles down. The word stretched across two triple-word-score squares with the "J" on a double-letter-score square in between; accumulating an astounding three hundred and twenty-four points. Her play contained one of the "H's" he needed to complete it using the seven tiles he had accumulated on his own. Being able to use all his tiles at once afforded him with an extra fifty point bingo bonus.

"How many points is that?", she asked, not bothering to look up from her scoring sheet to see where he had placed the letters.

"Threehundredandseventyfour," he mumbled under his breath.

"What?"

Spencer looked up at him with her big, brown eyes focused on his icy, blue ones. He could see the wheels spinning in her head, planning her next move, intent on kicking his ass... hard.

"Three hundred and seventy-four points. For me," he repeated. She definitely heard him this time. She was probably going to throw the board at him.

"Three... hundred...," she said to herself.

"And seventy-four," he added.

She was flabbergasted that he was able to beat her again. An utterly confused look was upon her. Then, a small smile crept across her face. He was perfect. No one tried to challenge her the way that he did. Well, no one tried to challenge her and _succeeded_ the way that he did.

"Unbelievable." Spencer covered her face with her hands. "I think you should just keep this as a decoration from now on."

He helped her clean up the board, placing everything neatly back into it's box. He set it down on the mahogany bookshelf knowing that every time he glanced at it, he would be flooded with memories of her. Funny how a silly game had been part of the turning point of their relationship.

When he turned back to her, she was checking the time on her phone. He looked at his watch and saw that it was nearing midnight. For the first time since he had moved in, he actually felt like this place was a home because she was there. The last thing that he wanted was for her to go now.

"Stay."

She cocked her head to the side and smiled, thinly. "If I had been anywhere else, I would've called my parents by now to tell them if I wasn't coming home. I should go."

Toby walked over to her as she rose from the couch to gather her things, and grabbed her around the waist, pulling her into him. She gasped at the sudden feeling of his strong arm guiding her in a new direction. Her eyes surveyed his face as he tipped her chin up and leaned in to place his mouth on hers.

"_Stay_," he whispered as he pulled back from her. It was nearly impossible for her to say no to that voice... to those eyes...

"I didn't even bring pajamas. Or a toothbrush."

With a slight raise of his eyebrows a smirk spread across his face as he leaned into her again. "But you don't need pajamas," he said, placing a small kiss on her neck," or a toothbrush." When he brought his mouth back to hers, she could feel her limbs melting at the touch of his lips.

She nodded, breaking away from him momentarily. "You're right. Let me just go call my parents."

Spencer went to the kitchen to make up some excuse for her absence from the Hastings household. He admired that she still wanted to inform them she wasn't coming home even if it didn't usually seem like they noticed. He flopped onto the middle of his bed, listening to the music wafting softly through his apartment and his girlfriend murmuring on the phone.

Then she was suddenly next to him. She was looking down at him with one leg tucked underneath her and one foot still on the floor. He propped his head on his hands, elbows out stretched and smiled at her.

"I love you," she said running her fingers gently up and down his arm.

"I love you, more," he replied as he pulled her towards him. She nestled her body next to his, where it fit just perfectly, and caught his mouth with hers. His hands were immediately immersed in her hair and he turned his body to face her. She giggled into him as she felt one of his hands glide down her back and underneath the soft fabric of her shirt.

She knew exactly where this was going.

Their first night together in their new safe place could not have ended more perfectly.

A/N: A huge, huge THANK YOU to KarriLena for helping me immensely with my Scrabble research! Without your information discovery, this chapter might never have gotten finished. That damn game is so complicated. It's so Spencer and Toby. Read and review, everyone, more to come 3


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